If you'd like to try the glycemic index diet, or you'd simply like to try eating foods based on their glycemic load to see how well it can help you naturally manage your blood sugar levels and weight loss efforts, there are many ways to get started. The first thing you'll need to do is get a copy of a Glycemic Index (GI) food chart to use for reference. There are many GI chart resources available freely on the Internet too, so you might be able to simply print those out and stick them on your fridge.
If you're a diabetic or hypoglycemic taking medications to help manage your blood sugar levels, you'll also need to inform your doctor that you'll be trying the GI diet, or integrating some of the GI principals into your eating plans. This way your doctor can help monitor your blood sugar levels, and adjust your medications as needed. Diabetics who take insulin regularly will need to keep a close eye on their blood sugar levels too, and call their doctor if you start noticing frequent blood sugar lows.
Now here are some simple tips for trying the glycemic index food charts in your daily eating plans:
1. Realize there is almost always an alternative food choice. If you happen to like having oatmeal for breakfast, you can lower the glycemic load and speed of blood sugar impacts by eating old fashioned cooked oatmeal instead of instant. You can try sweet potatoes, or yams, instead of white potatoes. Try boiled white potatoes instead of baked, and try pumpernickel or whole grain breads instead of white.
2. You don't have to avoid most high GI foods, you simply need to eat them in moderation. Eating smaller food portions will help lower the GI load on all foods, and only eating high GI foods occasionally will help minimize the overall impact those foods have on your everyday blood sugar levels.
3. Think in terms of meals instead of foods. If you choose to eat a food which has a higher GI rating, you can help minimize the overall impact on your blood sugar levels by having lower GI foods in the same meal. So if you want to have instant oatmeal for breakfast for instance, you can help balance it out a bit by sprinking some fiber bran on top and having strawberries.
Adding proteins, fiber, and good fat food sources can lower the overall GI load of your meal too, as can adding acidic foods such as lemons or vinegar. These foods help reduce the speed at which carbohydrates are absorbed into your body, thus creating a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels instead of quick high ones.
4. Realize that the Glycemic Index is a guideline to help you. It's not a set in stone diet that says what you can or cannot have. Some foods are very high in nutrition even though they may have a moderate to high GI rating. Don't avoid those foods, just eat them in smaller portions. You need the nutrition they provide.
5. Learn different cooking styles. The GI rating of many foods will change based on how it's prepared. Generally the longer something is cooked, the higher the GI rating is. Raw foods tend to have the lowest blood sugar impact, but not everything can be eaten raw. Many things can be cooked less though. Pasta for instance, can be made "al dente" style, meaning it's still firm when eaten. This will cause the pasta to have less of an impact on your blood sugar levels than fully cooked soft pasta will.
6. Realize your personal blood sugar responses. The best way to integrate the glycemic index into your diabetes, hypoglycemia, and weight loss management programs naturally, is to keep a diligent watch on how different foods affect you.
Some people can eat a food and has little to no major impact on their blood sugar levels, while others will see their blood sugar go through the roof. When the food effects you can be different as well. You might notice that when you eat one thing for instance, your blood sugar levels will start rising in less than an hour. Something else however, may not start a rise for up to four hours later.
There are some diabetics who can eat pizza for instance, and have little to no problem with their blood sugar levels afterwards. Others however, may find their blood sugar levels go extremely high just hours after eating the pizza. The same examples abound for people who eat breakfast cereals, rice, breads, pasta, and candy.
Part of the reason for these differences is likely due to portion sizes or cooking methods. There is no one exact universal pizza that everyone eats for instance. Some pizzas have very thick crusts, and that gives you a lot more simple carbohydrates when you eat it. Some pizzas have lots of vegetables on them, which can help balance your GI load. Some pizzas, sauces or toppings could have added sugar in them too. In many cases however, the response is based mainly on what kind of pizza you have. Some may just have cheese, while others have all meat, or a thin crust, and a whole variation of other differences. And all of these differences will affect your blood sugar levels as well as your weight loss progress.
That's why the glycemic index is not a hard and fast "diet" in the commonly accepted definition of the word. You have to understand how different foods make your own body respond, how portion sizes change those responses, and how your cooking methods affect you too.
Managing weight loss using the glycemic index can be a very complicated, sometimes overwhelming process. Given time however, and an understanding about how different food works in different people and situations, you can use it to successfully help manage your weight loss efforts much more naturally.
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